Case Study
TESTIMONIAL
GURIT CORECELL™ M FOAM CORE
OVERVIEW
Industry
Student project > Solar-powered car
Target
Manufacture a carbon fiber aeroshell for a solar car
Solution
The use of Gurit’s M60 and M200 Corecell™ Foam Core
Benefits
Lightweight and aerodynamic aeroshell that can withstand the loads prescribed by competition rule
The Esteban project is a team of 50 students from Polytechnique Montréal University whose aim is to design and build a solar-powered car every 2 years. When producing their prototypes, the team faces many challenges, not only regarding complying with competition rules, but also improving performance every year. Whether by perfecting designs to reduce weight as much as possible, increasing the efficiency of the car’s battery or optimizing the aerodynamics of the vehicle’s external envelope, the team is pulling out all the stops to ensure victory.
In order to assist Team Esteban in reaching their goal, Gurit contributed Corecell M60 and M200 to the team’s conception of a highly aerodynamic, lightweight vehicle. The core supplied enabled them to design an aerodynamic carbon fiber envelope that was light, robust, and the desired shape. This weight savings was a major factor in Project Esteban securing first place at the Formula Sun Grand Prix Competition in 2022 and 2023.
“Gurit‘s M60 and M200 Corecell™ foam core enabled our team to design high quality carbon fibre sandwich panels and thus stand out from our rivals in our solar car competitions”, said Marie Rouillard, Co-Project Manager.
Left: Esteban 10, the tenth solar-powered car from the Esteban Project since its inception in 1998 and the project’s first multi-passenger prototype, as well as the first of its kind in Quebec